Kanye West has said some pretty bizarre things in the past, but his intelligence never got insulted by a major news outlet.
Until now, that is.
What changed? Did West suddenly flunk a series of IQ exams? Pen a typo-laden tweet that went viral? File an op-ed teeming with unhinged arguments?
The egocentric rapper merely embraced President Donald Trump. That turned media outlets that once chuckled at his curious English and crass political statements (George Bush doesn’t care about black people) into a cyber firing squad.
CNN’s Don Lemon led the way. The unabashedly liberal broadcaster trashed an interview West gave recently to a Chicago morning show. West expounded on his pro-Trump views during the exchange, saying the president misses the days when rappers would name-check him in a positive way.
It’s ego-driven, of course, West said. And he should know. He finished with this statement: “He knows that he can’t be the greatest president without the acceptance of the black community.”
Lemon could stand no more.
If you listen to the entire interview that’s what it sounds like … it’s like a word salad where you realize that Kanye West, entitled to his own opinion, but is not very bright and not very — he — when — I’m talking about this issue, not overall, but when it comes to these issues, he’s not clued in.
Does anyone remember Lemon similarly slamming other celebrities who have said some of the most absurd things possible related to politics?
Probably not. Did Lemon castigate West for his President Bush attack, particularly considering the former president’s legacy helping Africans battle AIDS? Doubtful.
Lemon felt some blowback from his panelists du jour about his West attack. So he attempted a backpedal. “He needs to read about it before he speaks about it,” said Lemon. “I’m not saying he’s not a bright person. I take that back. It’s not what I meant…”
Satisfied, Lemon played the Condescending Card next. “When it comes to this particular issue he needs to, like, look at a book, read some history and understand what he’s talking about.”
It’s a downright insulting attack, predicated on CNN’s enduring Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Some conservatives have wondered if West’s Trump embrace is an act, part of an effort to dupe the media and play into our divisive age. If so, and if West suddenly turned on the president, who doesn’t think Lemon would drop the attacks on West’s intelligence in a New York minute?
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